


Trust Exercises

by CountessKlair



Series: Choosing a Path [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Based On Health Studies, Bonding, Cuddling to bond, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Linked to Polyvore Under the Same Name, M/M, Multi, Referencing Psychological/Emotional/Physical Trauma, Talking, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-06
Updated: 2016-01-06
Packaged: 2018-05-12 03:22:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5650741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CountessKlair/pseuds/CountessKlair
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Tony, for the love of God, stop telling the press we have orgies!"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trust Exercises

**Author's Note:**

> This is a side story to Choosing a Path and this story's chapters will be set during the timeline of the original story. This is all about how Ava uses experimental Psychology to further the team's trust in each other and maybe as an excuse to introduce the team to classic movies.

**Ava's POV**

**May 1, 2013**

 

Taking a deep breath to steady my nerves, I straightened my shoulders and walked into the lab, where Bruce, Jane, Darcy and Tony were all working on various projects, muttering to one another about the finer mechanics of Thor's Einstein-Rosen Bridge. 

Darcy looked up and smiled, "Hey, I thought it was your day off today?"

Winding my fingers around one another I shrugged. "Well yes, but I had an idea. And you guys can say no to it if you want, but everyone else has already agreed to try it. But keep in mind that this is totally your choice, ok?"

Sighing overdramatically, Tony turned around on his stool and asked boredly, "Is this about the orgy?"

Planting my hands on my hips, I spat over Jane and Bruce's questions and Darcy's excited comments, "Tony, it is not an orgy. It is an experimental psychology technique used to help people bond and trust each other through continuous physical contact and speech. And maybe movies, because Clint is the only one of you has seen a John Wayne movie and is therefore the only one with any taste. And how did you know, anyway?"

Tony laid a hand on his arc reactor, feigning offense. "Darcy and I were watching on the security cameras. And I'll have you know that I have great taste!"

The edges of Bruce's mouth lifted up slightly, and he cajoled quietly, "Well..."

As Tony turned an affronted expression to Bruce, Jane, who's eyes were determinedly fixed on her Holo-Projection screen, asked disbelievingly, "And you got Natasha to agree to this?"

Darcy snorted. "Nat was an easy target. The real accomplishment here is that she got Pep to agree to it."

Tony and Bruce stopped bickering and Tony asked in shock, "You got Pep to stop working?"

Smiling, I held up my hands and simply offered, "Hey, my methods are confidential. Now are you guys in?"

Jane sighed, closing down her Holoscreen. "You're lucky you caught me when you did. And can we at least watch something that's not a Western?"

The others shrugged and all gave their agreement, and I felt relief swell through me. 

I knew the very first day that I had worked with the team that they needed a way to communicate with each other, and plain speech wasn't gonna cut it because none of them wanted to actually talk to each other, because  _none_ of them trusted one another enough for that, save Clint and Nat. So I took a chance.

One of the therapists I had worked under last year had done a study on the effect continuous physical contact had on people's relationships, the results turning out quite positive. Of course, while the study had been conducted on other Shield Agents who were all on the same teams, this was the Avengers, and the Avengers definitely had more trust issues than I had ever seen, DIrector Fury notwithstanding. Even if it didn't work, and they came out of the session feeling no more comfortable or different, it was worth a shot.

So I had the team and the significant others file into the Movie Den, the giant room Tony had outfitted with a state of the art sound system and a theater-sized screen projection system that could switch between the wall and the ceiling. The ceiling screen was necessary because Tony had filled the Movie Den with this huge sofa that could fold down into a huge, comfy bed-like thing that was littered with pillows and blankets. The team had already taken advantage of the Movie Den a couple times in between missions, to show Steve and Thor Star Wars, Casablanca (which was Clint's second favorite movie), and Jaws. 

All of these had actually gone over very well, and Thor, who had never seen a shark before, was especially impressed with Jaws, his eyes wide as Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss battled the beast. Thor vowed to tell their tale to the skald's of Asgard.

I thought it was kinda really cool that American pop culture would be sung about by aliens, if a little weird.

Once everyone (Tony, Pep, Jane, Thor, Darcy, Bruce, Nat, Clint, and Steve) was in the Movie Den and the sofa folded out, and once Tony had stopped making orgy jokes on threat of pain of death, they all kind of awkwardly climbed up and over one another, flopping on top of each other and accidentally jabbing pointy limbs into softer parts of each others bodies as they tried to find a way that was comfortable while still maintaining physical contact with at least two to three other people.

Tony was in the very middle, Pepper's head on his left shoulder while Tony's right arm was pressed up against Jane's back, Bruce's feet tangled with Tony's while Tony's head rested on Darcy's stomach, who lay above him with a hand tangled in Pepper's hair and whose knee touched Steve's shoulder. Steve had gingerly lay down next to Pepper, who had smiled gently at him and took his hand in hers. Thor was on the other side of Jane, Clint lying perpendicular to the prince while Natasha curled up like a cat with her head on a pillow between Clint's folded legs, sharing her pillow with Darcy and reaching down to brush her fingers against the crown of Thor's head.

I smiled at the team because while they definitely looked a little awkward, they still looked a little more relaxed than I had ever seen them. I turned, ready to leave them to it, when Tony called, "Oh no you don't. If we're doing this so are you. Get over here, Freud."

Turning around in more than a little confusion, I objected, "But I'm not-"

Bruce called out, "Ava, he's not going to give this up. Just come over here."

Sighing and trying to stop the epically nervous train of thought in my head, I toed off my shoes and climbed aboard, settling down next to Bruce, asking quietly, "Is it ok if I...?" and waiting for him to nod before curling up with my head on his stomach, reaching around to wrap my hand around Steve's ankle.

Once I was done moving around, Clint drawled, "I was promised John Wayne."

Blushing a little and still not quite understanding why my presence was required but too selfish to push the issue, I raised my voice and asked, "Jarvis? Can we stream John Wayne's Hatari?"

The AI acquiesced, "Of course, Ma'am."

**Author's Note:**

> Studies I mentioned are found here!  
> http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896627308008969 , http://mic.com/articles/104290/cuddling-with-your-partner-does-something-very-surprising-to-your-health#.rtI04xQRx , http://www.shape.com/lifestyle/sex-and-love/5-health-reasons-make-time-cuddling .
> 
> This is a side story to Choosing a Path and this story's chapters will be set during the timeline of the original story. This is all about how Ava uses experimental Psychology to further the team's trust in each other and maybe as an excuse to introduce the team to classic movies.


End file.
